Shloka 38

Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)

Devanagari script

महाभारत &«€ ७» कक राजासे हीन प्रजाकी ब्रह्माजीसे राजाके लिये प्रार्थना यात्राकालाश्ष चत्वारस्त्रिवर्गस्थ च विस्तर: । विजयो धर्मयुक्तश्व तथार्थविजयश्व ह

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | mahābhārate 'smin granthe prajāyā rājahīnatve brahmaṇā rājñe kṛtā prārthanā yātrākālāś ca catvāras trivaragasya ca vistaraḥ | vijayo dharmayuktaś ca tathārthavijaya eva ca āsuravijayaś ca | śatrūṇām upari yātrāyāś catvāraḥ kālāḥ, trivaragasya vistaraḥ, dharmavijayaḥ, arthavijayaḥ, āsuravijayaś ca—etad api granthe pūrṇarūpeṇa varṇitam | mantrī rāṣṭra durga senā kośa iti pañcavargāṇāṃ uttama-madhyama-adhama-bhedena trividha-lakṣaṇam api pratipāditam ||

Translation

Bhishma dit : Dans ce Mahabharata, il est pleinement exposé comment, lorsque le peuple fut laissé sans roi, Brahmā pria pour que naisse l’institution de la royauté. Il y est aussi fixé les quatre moments convenables pour qu’un souverain entreprenne une expédition contre ses ennemis, et l’on y explique en détail l’étendue des trois buts de la vie. En outre, l’ouvrage distingue les sortes de victoire : la victoire fondée sur le dharma, la victoire recherchée pour le gain matériel et la puissance, et la victoire d’ordre asurique (inique). Il y est encore posé un triple critère—supérieur, moyen et inférieur—pour les cinq piliers d’un royaume : le ministre, le pays, la forteresse, l’armée et le trésor.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'bhīṣma uvāca', 'definition': '‘Bhishma said’

• the speaker marker'}, {'term': 'prajā', 'definition': 'subjects, the people of the realm'}, {'term': 'rāja-hīnatva', 'definition': 'the condition of being without a king

• absence of kingship'}, {'term': 'brahmā', 'definition': 'Brahma

• the creator deity, here linked with instituting kingship'}, {'term': 'prārthanā', 'definition': 'prayer, supplication'}, {'term': 'yātrā-kāla', 'definition': 'time/occasion for a campaign or expedition'}, {'term': 'trivarga', 'definition': 'the triad of human aims: dharma, artha, kāma'}, {'term': 'vistara', 'definition': 'detailed exposition, expansion'}, {'term': 'vijaya', 'definition': 'victory

• success in conquest or policy'}, {'term': 'dharma-yukta', 'definition': 'aligned with dharma

• ethically legitimate'}, {'term': 'artha-vijaya', 'definition': 'victory pursued for material/political gain (artha)'}, {'term': 'āsura-vijaya', 'definition': 'asuric victory

• victory by unrighteous, cruel, or impious means'}, {'term': 'mantrī', 'definition': 'minister, counselor'}, {'term': 'rāṣṭra', 'definition': 'the realm/territory and its populace

• the state'}, {'term': 'durga', 'definition': 'fortress

• defensive stronghold'}, {'term': 'senā', 'definition': 'army'}, {'term': 'kośa', 'definition': 'treasury

• financial resources'}, {'term': 'uttama / madhyama / adhama', 'definition': 'superior / middling / inferior (grades of quality)'}, {'term': 'lakṣaṇa', 'definition': 'defining marks

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Brahma
• king (rājā)
• subjects (prajā)
• minister (mantrī)
• realm (rāṣṭra)
• fortress (durga)
• army (senā)
• treasury (kośa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames kingship as a dharma-protecting institution: it outlines ethical categories of victory and teaches that a kingdom’s strength depends on evaluating its five pillars—minister, realm, fort, army, and treasury—by clear standards of quality.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma, instructing on rajadharma in the Shanti Parva, points to what the Mahabharata itself contains: the origin-idea of kingship (Brahma’s prayer when people lacked a king), guidance on when to undertake campaigns, the exposition of the trivarga, and classifications of victory and state components.